The Nymph Wants to be Plundered - Chapter 54

-O King, we shall do as you wish, but will it not be troublesome? Now that the tree is in such a state, the nymph could collapse and die any day without your care.

-For now, I’d like to try my best, but please don’t tell the person concerned.

-I’ll try to delay the dying of that jasmine tree as much as possible. Hmm… I can somehow preserve its life until next autumn. Winter will be the problem. If it doesn’t endure winter well, a crisis may come even this winter.

-If only the goddess Theia would give that poor child another tree to serve… tsk, tsk.

-…If cared for calmly in the sacred ground, it will easily survive for about 2 years. I’ll do my best to find another solution within that time.

Cassis, who had concluded that day’s meeting while feigning indifference, was still worrying.

To reveal that Evelyn could live as long as he was alive would ultimately mean exposing his secret to everyone. To all of Jupiter. And the time to consider this was at most 2 years, though he felt it would likely be shorter.

‘Hmm.’

Perhaps he should just reveal it now. He just needed to make the decision, yet something unidentifiable was blocking his mouth like a stone, making him hesitant to take that path. Cassis was not one to blindly trust intuition, but this matter was an exception.

“P-please go out. Then I’ll also come out of the bath.”

In the midst of this, Evelyn, unaware of what was going through his mind, bravely made a suggestion. Even while stuttering, her attempt to push him away was simply adorable.

He smiled lightly and pretended to peer into the misty water.

“The Hall of Glory has been devoted to me, so everything in here is mine, Evelyn. What part of your body are you so embarrassed about that you want to hide it?”

“Eeeek!”

Startled, she was seized not by the thought to splash water at him, but by the foolish idea that she needed to escape quickly. But to do so, she would either have to leave the bath or dive underwater. Evelyn hastily tried to back away, but her knees buckled, putting her in danger of being submerged up to her head.

Splash!

Just as he had on the day they first met, Cassis jumped into the bath without hesitation. The yellow glowing spirits that had been floating around tried belatedly to lift her up, but he was much faster. Such was Cassis’s judgment and decisiveness.

“Ah….”

This was disastrous.

His pristine white uniform was completely soaked from the collar supporting his neck down to the trouser cuffs that were now out of sight. All because of her small mistake. Evelyn, being the cause, was at a loss for words and couldn’t even look at the face before her, while he lightly scolded her as he held her naked body.

“Evelyn, you shouldn’t play around while submerged in deep water. Haven’t you heard that people can drown even in shallow water?”

It was truly shameless of him to say this after teasing her so mischievously first, but it worked well on the dejected girl. Evelyn nodded her head while using her trembling palms to shield her chest from touching him.

“…Yes.”

“Now, let’s get out. Your legs must be weak, so I won’t listen to any refusals.”

Cassis, who pulled her out while water dripped everywhere, gentlemanly turned his face to the opposite direction. He meant for her to cover herself adequately while he wasn’t looking. Though as he said, it was unclear what meaning that had. Evelyn quickly grabbed a towel to cover her naked body and mumbled in a voice as small as a mosquito’s.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t forget that you’re too fragile and don’t act recklessly. The Hall of Glory is mine but at the same time, it’s a sanctuary for you. Understand?”

“I understand.”

This assurance was largely due to Ruba.

Because of the handmaidens’ contempt, she had no choice but to borrow, in the unicorn’s words, “the strength of its hooves,” but it was going too far. Contrary to Cassis’s intentions, Ruba kept trying to push Evelyn outside the hall, which made him uneasy. After all, it was still a horse, and it could carry her on its back and gallop off somewhere.

The last time, Ruba had subtly tried to take her out for an excursion beyond the castle walls, which finally led him to issue a warning. His lips trembled with extreme concern.

Evelyn, What Am I to Do with You?